1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to brick texturing systems and, more particularly, to a brick texturing unit for indenting the edges of individual bricks.
2. History of the Prior Art
The fabrication of brick from materials such as clay is an ancient art. Conventional fabrication techniques have improved both the speed at which such product can be produced as well as the structural and aesthetic characteristics. Innovations in material preparation, cutting, handling, and curing have allowed brick manufactures to produce the bricks in mass arrays. Treatment of the faces of the brick for aesthetic purposes is likewise afforded by conventional texturing systems which treat an array of brick simultaneously during manufacture.
Numerous prior art systems are conventionally available for texturing the surface of a brick array. Many of these systems incorporate rollers, brushes, and belts to impart rough, pitted, and chipped features to the brick. These features impart a used appearance to the goods which is deemed highly desirable in certain construction applications. Brick fabrication technology has been effective for many years, and older bricks are generally structurally sound. For this reason the use of second hand bricks, of the type removed from previous structures, has become feasible and a contemporary building design consideration. The cost of actual used bricks is, however, prohibitive in many instances. For obvious reasons, the availability of such "used" product is limited. The application of texturing systems for new brick has thus found a wide range of acceptance. Moreover, technology for producing a more realistic used look in brick has found large demand. One prior art approach to the texturing of the face and side edges of brick is set forth and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,778,086 to Wilcox. The Wilcox patent shows a system for texturing a column of clay as it issues from extrusion apparatus. The textural lines are formed by brushes carried on an endless belt which engages the clay ribbon. The material is thus scored in such a way as to impart certain desirable characteristics. An earlier version of this method is set forth and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,580,154 to Neher. The Neher patent teaches the use of scoring pins which engage the face of the brick ribbon. The scored surface is then rolled to impart the desirable aesthetic quality.
Other prior art approaches utilize rotating brushes such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,193,871 to Butterworth. This 1916 reference teaches the treatment of a clay-ribbon into a roughened configuration without having predominating lines extending in any one direction. The system incorporates a series of rotatable brushes having resilient bristles of steel or the like for pitting the surface of the brick ribbon rather than scoring it. The brushes are so mounted that their engagement with the ribbon is controlled by resilient means for presenting the pitted configuration. This prior art approach illustrates the desirability of the non-uniform, non-directional pattern which has been found desirable in brick texturing systems.
It may be seen in these prior art references that the brick texturing systems engage and treat the planar surfaces of the brick ribbon. While an aesthetically pleasing texture may be imparted to this flat surface, the edges of the individual bricks are themselves left unaffected due to the planar configuration of the brick array in the ribbon state. Actual used brick has an appearance which is multi-dimensional and extends beyond the planar surface of the brick itself. Generally, such bricks are chipped, dented, and/or deformed along the edge portions as a result of normal environmental wear or their removal. Therefore, the treatment of just the generally flat exposed surface of the brick is in and of itself an incomplete texturing operation. Prior art methods and apparatus for texturing brick ribbons do not affect such edge surfaces due to the co-planar relationship of the brick edges with the clay ribbon. Another consideration is the configuration of the texturing device itself relative to the ribbon. When such edge deformation is needed, the bricks are sometimes individually handled to impart the requisite aesthetic characteristics. Manual brick handling operations are obviously not conducive to high production fabrication and are inherently expensive.
It would be an advantage, therefore, to provide a brick texturing system for treating the edges of the individual bricks while the bricks remain in the production array. The methods and apparatus of the present invention provide such a system wherein the individual bricks of a production array are exposed to an edge texturing unit. Deformation of the edge of the brick is effected by positioning the issuing brick ribbon over an array of staggered lifting plates which underlie the bricks passing thereacross. A plurality of oppositely directed slapping members then engage the exposed edges of the respective bricks passing therethrough. In this manner, a rough, used brick appearance is imparted to the individual brick elements which remain in the production array.